Judging at our tournaments is crucial to assisting our team. For every tournament, we are responsible for providing judges for the events in which we compete. By attending and judging tournaments, you help our team by enabling us to use our budget to attend more events, rather than paying judge fees.

This section of the website has materials you can read to learn about the events and how to judge them appropriately. We will also hold a judge training session prior to the tournament. If you cannot attend, you are responsible for reviewing these materials ahead of time.

Thank you for supporting Knight Debate!

LD DebateLincoln-Douglas Debate is a single person event in which students debate issues of value and what ought to be. For more information, see the resources below.

Extemporaneous SpeakingExtemporaneous Speaking includes the events for NSDA/TFA (US/Domestic and Foreign/International) and UIL (Informative and Persuasive). These events involve students selecting a topic, preparing a speech for 30 minutes, and then delivering that speech without notes. As a judge, you will rank them in order from 1-6. For more information, see the resources below.

Congressional DebateCongressional Debate is an event modeled after traditional Congress where students debate pieces of legislation. As a judge, you will evaluate each speaker in the room over the course of the three hour session. For more information, see the resources below.

Oral InterpretationOral Interpretation includes the following events: Poetry, Prose, Dramatic, Humorous, Duo, and Duet. Each event involves students performing a piece of literature using only their voices and body language. As a judge, you will rank them in order from 1-6. For more information, see the resources below.

Original OratoryOriginal Oratory is a speaking event in which students deliver prewritten, memorized speeches. As a judge, you will rank them in order from 1-6. For more information, see the resources below.